Phrasal verb
hover around
Definition
phrasal verb. to stay near a person or place because you are waiting for something or feel nervous.
phrasal verb. to remain in the immediate vicinity of a person, place, or numerical value, often characterized by indecision, anticipation, or slight fluctuation.
Examples
“The waiter hovers around our table waiting for the bill.”
“I noticed a few nervous parents hovering around the school gates on the first day of term.”
“The company's stock price continued to hover around the fifty-dollar mark despite the recent economic downturn and negative press.”
Examples
simple
“The waiter hovers around our table waiting for the bill.”
contextual
“I noticed a few nervous parents hovering around the school gates on the first day of term.”
complex
“The company's stock price continued to hover around the fifty-dollar mark despite the recent economic downturn and negative press.”
Usage
often implies a sense of lingering or waiting without a clear, immediate action.
Teaching tip
highlight the physical movement of 'hovering' (like a bird or helicopter) to help students visualize the lack of a fixed landing or departure.
Pitfall
He was hovering around to the kitchen.
He was hovering around the kitchen.
the phrase acts as a transitive unit here; do not add extra prepositions like 'to' before the location.
Phrasal verb
Particles
around
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
hover + around + object
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/hover-around